Ca. 1880 Rumsey Hand Drawn Pumper

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Ca. 1880 Rumsey Hand Drawn Pumper. The Michigan volunteers who brought this engine probably commissioned the maker to paint it. It's a good example of the level of decoration that volunteers favored, and which carried over to the rigs of the professional fire service. This is the largest size pumper made by Rumsey, supplying two discharge hoses with up to 150 of water per minute. To achieve this output, a company of about 30 men would have to work the pump handles at 60 strokes per minute. This pace couldn't be maintained for longer than a few minutes. At a more practial 50 strokes per minute, output was 120 gpm. Firemen pulled the engine with ropes mounted on reels below the tow bar. Two firemen steered the tow bar. They stopped the rig by grabbing the pump handles.

This Rumsey hand drawn pumper is owned by Hall of Flames and can be seen at their museum in Phoenix, Arizona.

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